Adjustable lecture and classroom chair



Sept. 13, 1932. 1 A. R. VAN NUYS ADJUSTABLE LECTURE AND CLASSROOM CHAIR 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed 001;. 20. 1931 i4 Hllllllllllllllllllllmll. ,5

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ADJUSTABLE LECTURE AND CLASSROOM cmifi Filed Oct. 20, 1931, 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Sept. 13, 1932. A, R VAN NUYS 1,876,802

ADJUSTABLE LECTURE AND CLASSROOM CHAIR F'i led Oct. '20, 1931 s Sheets-Sheet 5 awe rum:

Patented Sept. 13, 1932 UNITED STATES V ALBERT even mIYs, or :eooATELLo, IDAHO ADJUSTABLE LECTURE AND CLASSROOM CHAIR Application filed October 20, 1931. Serial No. 569,982.

This invention relates to a chair especially adapted for use in lecture and classrooms and embodying a pedestal, a seat and a back mounted upon the pedestal, a writing arm secured to the seat and back, and a book and notebook rack secured to the seat.

The invention has for one of its objects to provide a chair of the character stated wherein the several parts thereof shall be of'such construction as to permit them to be made of rolled steel, to be easily, cheaply and quickly manufactured, and to be -maintained in a clean and sanitary condition with the expenditure of comparatively little labor.

The invention has for a further object to provide a chair of the character stated wherein the pedestal shall be variable as to height so as to permit the seat to, be arranged at the required distance from the floor, wherel in the seat shall be connected tothe pedestal so as to permit it to be adjusted in a horizontal plane so as to permit the student to face a blackboard or chart or to admit of the best light efiects, wherein the writing arm shall be. connected to the back and seat in a manner to' permit it to be easily and quickly swung from a horizontal to a vertical posi tion, wherein the several adjustments are admissible with a minimum of noise, confusion and effort" and with no loss of time, and wherein the book and notebook rack shall be connected to the seat in a manner to render it readily accessible to the pupil without his leaving the seat.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, the nature of which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention consists in the construction, combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter fully described and claimed, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein Figurel is a view in chair; 4

Figure 2 is a view partly in side elevation front elevation of the ,45 and partly in vertical section of'the chair;

Figure 3 is a view partly in horizontal section and partly in top plan of the chair;

Figure & isa sectional view taken on the vertical plane indicated by the line Hoof Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a sectional view taken on the vertical plane indicated'by the line 55 of Figure 3;

Figure 6 is a sectional view taken on the horizontal plane indicated by the line 6-6 of Figure l;

Figure 7 is a view partly in vertical section and partly in elevationof a portion of the pedestal of the chair illustrating themeans by which the seat is held in vertically adj usted position, and

Figure 8 is a sectional view taken on the vertical plane indicated by the line 8-8 of Figure 2.

Referringin nates the pedestal of the chair. This part comprises tubular lower and upper sections 2 and 3, respectively, which are fluted and tele scopically associated. The upper section 3 extends into the lower section 2, and the lower sectionis provided with a circular base 4. The base 4 is provided at its periphery with a downwardly extending flangeq5 which is adapted to engage with the floor of the leeture or classroom, and the base is adapted to be anchored to the floor by elements 6. The section 3 is provided at its upper end with an outwardly directed and substantially annular flange 7 to which the seat 8 is secured.

The corrugations 9 of the pedestal section 3 fit within the corrugations 10 of the pedestal section 2, and due thereto the section 3 is held against any turning movement with respect to the section 2. j The section 3 may, however, be raised and lowered with'respect to the section 2 so as to position the seat 8 at the required distance from the floor. The section 3 is secured in adjusted position against any accidental upward or downward movement with respect to the section 2 by means of a vertical series of rivets 11 carried by the section 3 and a pawl 12 pivotally connected to the section 2. The rivets 11 extend outwardly from the upper portion of one of the corrugations 9 of the section 3, and such portion of such corrugation is slightly flattened to prevent the rivetsfrom contacting with the corresponding corrugation 10 of the section 2 and to provide room for the pawl 12 which is arranged between the sections.

detail to the drawings, l desigbe adjusted is limited The pawl 12 is pivotally connected at one end to the section 2 by a rivet 13, and it is provided at its free end with a hook 14 which, when the pawl is in active position, is arranged between a pair of the rivets 11 so as to hold the section 3 against any accidental movement in a vertical direction with respect to the section 2. The rivet 13 is provided with a bore 15 of angular formation in cross section adapted to receive a correspondingly formed lug on a wrench, not shown, through the medium of which the pawl 12 may be swung into active or inactive position.

The seat 8 is provided with a downwardly extending, marginal, reinforcing flange 16, and it is secured to the pedestal section 3 throiwh the medium of circular plates 17 and 18. he plate 17 is secured at its center to the flange f the section 3 by rivets 19, and it is provided with a radially extending groove 20 and with circumferentially extending, arouate slots 21. The plate 18 is arranged beneath the seat 8, and it is maintained in spaced relation thereto by an annular flange 22 which extends upwardly from the periphery of the plate and contacts with the lower surface of the seat. The plate 18 is secured at its center to the seat 8 by rivets 23, and it is provided with a radially extending groove 24 and circumferentially extending, arcuate slots 25. The plate 18 has full abutting contact with the plate 17, and the slots 21 and 25 register with each other. The plates 17 and 18 are connected together by rivets 26 which pass through the slots 21 and 25 so as to permit the seat 8 to be turned or adjusted in a horizontal plane.

The distance through which the seat 8 may by the length of the slots 21 and 25, and by preference the seat is permitted to be adjusted through an angle of 45. In one position of the seat, the grooves 20 and 24 are in registration, and these grooves permit the contacting faces of the plates 17 and 18 to be supplied with Vaseline or other suitable lubricant which may be forced into the registering grooves by a grease gun.

The back 27 is provided at its side and upper edges with the real-wardly directed, reinforcing flanges 28 and 29, respectively, and it is provided at its lower end with bracket flanges 30. The bracket flanges 30 extend forwardly from the back 27 and are, together with the lower end of the back, secured to the flange 16 of the seat 8 by rivets 31.

The writing arm 32 is provided at its edges with downwardly extending, reinforcing flanges 33, and its rear end is reduced and formed to provide a movable hinge element 34 which is connected to a fixed hinge element 35 by a rivet 36. The hinge element 35 is of angular formation and has one of its flanges secured by rivets 37 to one of the flanges 28 of the back 27. The other flange of the hinge element 35 extends outwardly from the back 27 and has a hinge element 34 secured thereto. The writing arm 32 is pivotally connected at a point between its ends and centrally between its side edges, as at 38, to the upper end of a standard 39. The pivots 36 and 38 are arranged in axial alignment so as to permit the writing arm 32 to be moved into a horizontal or a vertical position.

The standard 39 is of channel formation, and the lower end thereof is formed to provide an elongated flat base 40 which is secured by rivets 41 to a flange 16 of the seat 8. A reinforcing bar 42 of channel formation extends across the under side of the writing arm 32, and is secured to the writing arm by rivets 43. The reinforcing bar 42 embraces the upper end portion of the standard 39, and the pivot 38, which is in the form of a rivet, extends through the overlapping portions of the side members or flanges of the standard and bar.

The book and notebook rack 44 is secured to and extends downwardly from the seat 8 at the left hand side of the pedestal 1. The book and notebook rack 44 is fully open at its front and upper sides, and it is provided at the upper edges of its side and rear walls with flanges 45. The book and notebook rack 44 is secured to the seat 8 by rivets 46 which extend through the seat and flanges 45 and are countersunk in the seat.

It is to be understood that each part of the chair is made from rolled steel, that all of the rivets are of the hard type, and that the seat may be readily adjusted to arrange it at the desired height from the floor and readily adjusted to permit the student to face a blackboard or charts or to admit of the best light effects. It will be further understood that the seat cannot have any tilting movement with respect to the pedestal, and that due to the lubrication of the plates, through the medium of which it is connected to the pedestal for horizontal adjustment, no noise will be created by and as a result of the ad justment of the seat horizontally.

It will be further understood that the writing arm is arranged at the right hand side of the chair, that it swings upwardly and outwardly during its movement from its horizontal or utile position to its vertical or nonutile position, and it is supported firmly in its utile position by the pivot and the reinforcing bar which contacts with the upper end of the standard. It should be still further understood that the arrangement of the book and notebook rack renders it readily accessible to the student occupying the chair. It is further possible by interchanging sides of attachment to the chair of the writing arm and book rack to adapt the chair to the convenience of pupils who write or draw left handed. These alterations are possible with no change of design in material other than to reverse the reinforcing flange 33 and the rear hinge element 34 with reference to the surfaces of the sheet forming the writing arm 32. While I have described the principle of the invention together with the structure which I now consider the preferred embodiment thereof, it is to be understood that the structure shown is merely illustrative and that such changes may be made, when desired, as fall within the scope of the invention as claimed.

I claim 1. A chair of the character set forth comprising a base, a lower pedestal section secured to the base and of hollow, fluted formation, an upper fluted pedestal section arranged within the lower pedestal section for vertical adjustment with respect thereto, the 2 corrugations of the upper pedestal section fitting within those of the lower pedestal sec- 7 tion and one of the corrugations of the upper pedestal sections having a flattened upper portion, a vertical series of rivets carried by 2 said flattened portion, a rivet extending through the corrugation of the lower pedestal section opposite said flattened portion, a pawl arranged between the pedestal sections and secured at one end to the rivet and pro- 8 vided with a hook engaging between a pair of said first rivets to maintain the upperpedestal section in adjusted position, and a seat secured to the upper pedestal section.

2. A chair of the character set forth com- 85 prising a base, a lower pedestal section secured to the base, an upper pedestal section telescopically associated with the lower pedestal section for vertical adjustment with respect thereto, the pedestal sections'having 4 portions thereof arranged in radialspaced relation, a vertical series of pins carried by one of said sections, a pawl carried by the other of said sections and provided with a hook for engagement between a pair of pins to secure the upper pedestal section in adjusted position, and a seat secured to the upper pedestal section.

In testimony whereof I hereunto aflix my signature. ALBERT R. VAN NUYS. 

